In a room strictly off bound for all except those attending on her, She lies alone, her eyes are open and staring vacantly into space. She has been lying this way between life and death since 27th Nov. 1973.
Aruna Ramchandra joined as nurse in Mumbai's "King Edward Medical College" in 1966... On the fateful day of 27th Nov 1973 she was attacked by a ward boy in the basement of the same hospital.... and the shock of the accident lead her into Coma stage...
Its almost four decades now after being subjected to horrific attack, which resulted her to be in Coma Stage, and she is lying on the bed in the same hospital unable to speak, walk or even move her hands in fact she is being kept alive on the force feeding of meshed food.
But now a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by an activist, seeking the court's intervention to direct the hospital authorities to stop feeding Aruna and release her from the prison of her life.... you can say she has asked the court to to allow for "Euthanasia" or "Mercy killing"......
The case was there before the bench of two Justices on 2nd March 2011.... and after the hearing the honourable court has kept its verdict reserved.....
Only the time will answer which way the verdict goes????
But the question is that even if Aruna is in a persistent Vegetative state, does it mean, She should be forced to die????
Yes..she should get freedom from this suffering and life...it inhuman and insane to suffer ..
ReplyDeleteI had seen people on life support... and "will" made..if that situation arrives..they should get freedom from this suffering!
Mercy killing is not yet legalised..but to my mind..it should be..as its jus on life
support..which is same as a vegetable!
..its not the force to die,but an end to suffering!
Euthanasia should not be legalized as there are chances of it's misuse. This is the one case you mentioned and there are a lot like these in our society. We do feel bad about them and sympathize but we cannot take their pain away.
ReplyDeleteAnd to support someone in taking his/her life is simply inhuman.
No. No. I think she needs a chance.
ReplyDeleteWell 38 years of lying like that .. the whole world has changed to her..
ReplyDeleteI think she deserves to be set freee and hopefully GOD almighty will take care of her and keep her near him in heaven ...
Bikram's
That is such a sad case. Really, why was she destined to suffer so much? I hope that there can be an end to her misery soon.
ReplyDeleteHer case is really sad, 38 yrs in the same state, i can't even imagine that. According to me she should be relieved of all the pain and sufferings
ReplyDeleteYou have brought up an important ethical issue. As doctors, we often discuss this and opinions are varied. My personal view is that life is something that we have no right over and especially for a person in a vegetative state, we have no understanding of the the state their mind is in. There are stories of people waking up and having been aware during their state of coma. Suffering is subjective. If you ask me, a person who becomes a quadriplegic at the age of 18 suffers a lot. But if you read the story of Joni Earickson Tada, a girl who became quadriplegic in a swimming accident and then became a world-renowned mouth painter, you will realise that thouhg she did suffer, she made something great out of her life. So instead of going round killing people who we think are suffering, if we are so concerned, we should provide them support to go through their trouble victoriously. Thanks for bringing up this issue Irfan. God Bless!
ReplyDelete@Amy and Arpit: its really nice to have you on this particular post, bcoz you are the guy who can have an opinion free from emotions....
ReplyDeleteas per the news coming in, even the court is not in support of mercy killing... lets see when the judgment comes officially.
Only the time will answer
ReplyDeleteI really don't think anyone should be killed..I am not sure..If she is really in pain or she is even capable of sensing the pain. almost 4 decades is such a huge thing man..the credit also goes to the hospital authorities who have still kept her alive..for so long..
ReplyDeletei think a chance should be given to her...
ReplyDeleteas we are no one to take away anybody's life in however pain he/she maybe...
hmmm...May Allah be merciful on all of us...
ReplyDeleteI have been in this situation and I think that the family should decide on releasing the half deceased to take off the live support...
hmmm....I still feel bad about it....but I think this is live....
I had seen people on life support for many years I really don't think anyone should be killed. Mercy killing is not yet legalized and how killing can be legalized.
ReplyDeleteEuthanasia should not be legalized as there are chances of misuse.
This is the one case you mentioned but there are lots of Aruna in our society.
We do feel bad about them and sympathize but we cannot take their pain away but it doesn’t means we kill them it is simply inhuman if we are so concerned we should provide them support to go through their trouble instead of killing such people who are suffering.
Irfan Jee Thanks for bringing up this issue
God bless you.
Euthanasia should never be legalized. I think it is inhuman to allow people to die.
ReplyDeleteCourt should order against Euthanasia.
ReplyDeletehi irfan, jin logon ne bhi "mercy killing" ke liye apeal kiya hai,wo shayad ye bhool gaye hain ki zindzgi or maut ka faisla karane wala sirf khuda hota hai ,kisi insaan ya kisi court ko ye faisla lene ka haq nahi hai.Ek baar phir insaan khuda ke qudrat me dakhal dene ki koshish kar raha hai shayad insaaniyat ek baar phir dam tod rahi hai.
ReplyDeleteeven if the court allows for Euthanasia or Mercy killing(as they say), i don't think that any doctor is going to do that with his hands....
ReplyDeleteAfter all a killing is a killing how it can be mercy full.... killing is always brutal so it should not be allowed in any case...
She deserve to live as long she is destined for living.
.
ReplyDeleteMy rational mind is completely against mercy killing, but my heart pains to see anyone suffering like this . He must be freed from such suffering.
But the million dollar question is who will kill the sufferer ? Family members are not butchers and doctors are not murderers. Then who will dare to end the suffering ?
.
I absolutely agree that Euthanasia must not be legal, no human ought to be allowed to decide the mortal fate of another irrespective of the amount of suffering. Shouldnt be allowed under any condition whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteIt is murder. Period.
ReplyDeleteToday, the court is expected to pass an order.
ReplyDeleteIt is most unfortinate
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-rejects-petition-for-mercy-killing-of-Aruna-Shanbaug/articleshow/7644557.cms
ReplyDeleteThe verdict is out! Sad that she has to still suffer!
"SC rejects Aruna Shanbaug's mercy killing plea"
ReplyDeleteafter the verdict Kalpana Limaye, a nurse said...'It is the greatest gift that Supreme Court has given to us a day prior to International Women's Day,'
added another nurse.....'Aruna should live. She has all the rights to live,'...
well, the reaction at the KEM hospital clearly shows that people who are taking care of Aruna since more than 37 years want to be her alive irrespective of all sufferings....
and ZEAL has raised a vital point that even if Mercy Killing is legalized then who will dare to end the suffering??? i think its a tough call for anyone to do so.....
BTW i thank all of you for coming over here and sharing ur views on this very serious issue.
Thanx a lot.
I am sure Irfan. It depends on how one views it.
ReplyDeleteIrfan ji, a great post on a very sensitive matter. An issue like is cannot be decided upon easily, by individuals or by courts. I have read the comments that followed your post including the one by you that the court has declined the plea.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to point out that other than Aruna herself there are other human beings involved here, namely the nurses and other hospital staff that you have mentioned in your last comment. They feed her, support her and keep her alive with care despite the fact that they do not receive a thank you for it and the person they are caring for does not even appreciate or realize their efforts. Still they carry on doing it. What part of their personality do you think comes out in this?
To my mind, it keeps them human. To help and care for a person who cannot even realize what a big service you are doing for them, day in day out for years and decades, it would take a selfless person to devote so much attention to such a patient without even hope that their service may some day bear fruit.
I repeat, it keeps them human, it keeps them selfless, it keeps the desire to help their fellow beings strong in their heart. And isn't that what life is all about? Being human? Helping others?
On the other hand, if you make them kill that patient they have kept alive for 4 decades like a flickering flame of a chirag, then you invoke their animalistic tendencies. How else can you kill another human being, regardless of what state they are in? Do you think they would not feel guilty? Would it not traumtize, at least to a certain degree, the staff members who cared for that lady and kept her alive with their efforts? To have to participate in killing a helpless, defenseless human being who's in their custody, I don't think that'd invoke any good vibrations in any of them.
Before advocating this kind of killing, no matter what name you give it, you must consider both sides and then decide what kind of vibes you want to spread in the world.
As for the people who make the wills, they have not been in that state yet, they don't KNOW how they will feel in that state at that point in time.
That's just my two bits.
@sunil: first of all my congratulations to you, you have penned the things so clearly that says every thing.....
ReplyDeleteand regarding the Mercy killing issue... well its not some thing that we should decide with our heart filled with emotions... it has to be done with logic, and the logic says how can you end someone's life without her consent ...
and look at the the reaction of the people looking after her at the hospital for decades, the are simply elated with the court verdict... every body should learn from them to serve the humanity if nothing else.
BTw thanx for sparing so much of time here and giving ur view with so much of clarity....
http://ritusthoughtcatcher.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/guzaarish/
ReplyDelete~Ritu
@ Sunil..this is not about what the issue means to the caretakers but what about the suffering of the person in question (Aruna in this case)...whose life is it anyways??
ReplyDelete@Ritu: thank you for stopping by Ritu.
ReplyDelete